UK: Just 15 zero carbon homes qualify for £15m scheme

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A £15m project to build hundreds of zero carbon homes has been labelled an “eco-con” after only 15 properties qualified in the first year. Championed by Gordon Brown, the scheme was to reward owners of new zero carbon homes by waiving their stamp duty, worth about £15,000.

Building groups say the project, announced in November 2006, failed because the government’s specification for a zero carbon home is impractical.

The groups said the failure called into question the government’s targets that all new homes should be zero carbon by 2016, reported the Times.

Earlier this year the UK Green Building Council warned the government the current definition of zero carbon was too restrictive because it limited builders’ ability to offset carbon emissions through microgeneration.

The industry is currently awaiting the government to announce the launch of a consultation on a definition of zero carbon, expected before Christmas.

Tory housing spokesman Grant Shapps told the Times: “This was announced at the same time as eco-towns, and both initiatives have turned out to be spectacular failures.

“The latest revelation that just 15 homes have qualified for the zero carbon tax break demonstrates that this is an eco-con.”

A government spokesman said the tax relief was always expected to only be picked up in small numbers in the first few years.

By Roxanne Millar